Principal Software Engineer

Role OVO-View

Team: Attract Engage & Retain

Salary banding: 121000 - 174000

Experience: Expert

Working pattern: Full-Time

Sponsorship: Unfortunately we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

This role in 3 words: Technical Excellence Influence

Top 3 qualities for this role: Communication Delivery Expertise Amplification

Where youll work:

Depending on the needs of your business area we expect hub based people to be in the office at least once a week and to go to OVO Connection events in-person.

Youll be assigned to the closest one of our three hub offices Bristol Glasgow or London; unless your role requires field-based work. Each hub has accessible spaces to park your laptop is designed to inspire people help them connect and bring big ideas to life.

Everyone belongs at OVO

At OVO we are on a mission to solve one of humanitys biggest challenges the climate crisis. And we know it takes all of us to change the world. Thats why we need diverse people from all abilities gender identities ethnicities ages sexual orientations life experiences and backgrounds to join us.

Teamworking for the planet

Everything we do here spins around Plan Zero. So naturally the team youll be joining plays a gigantic role in making that happen. Heres how:

This role requires deep expertise in software engineering a strong understanding of emerging industry trends and the ability to define and execute a long-term technical vision. Youll mentor lead engineers influence company-wide technology and ensure the organisation remains at the forefront of technical innovation.

This role in a nutshell:

Principal Software Engineers are trusted technical leaders who help shape our long-term engineering strategy and drive innovation across multiple teams or areas of the this role youll use your deep expertise in software engineering to guide architectural decisions influence technology choices and keep us aligned with emerging industry trends. Youll play a key role in mentoring lead engineers supporting their growth and helping OVO stay ahead of the curve. This is a high-impact role for someone whos passionate about building inclusive forward-thinking technology and shaping the future of how we work.

Your key outcomes will be:

• Technical Vision and Strategy: Develop and communicate a long-term technical vision aligned with OVOs goals. Drive adoption of emerging technologies guide their impact on our software ecosystem and advise senior leadership on technology direction while executing strategic roadmaps for platforms and infrastructure.
  
  
• Innovation & Execution: Lead R&D initiatives applying emerging technologies to solve engineering challenges. Deliver prototypes and proof-of-concepts fostering a culture of experimentation learning and innovation within the engineering workflow.
  
  
• Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Mentor senior engineers promote best practices and ensure consistency across teams. Lead knowledge-sharing initiatives such as tech talks and forums to build a collaborative and high-performing culture.
  
  
• Architectural Guidance & Standards: Lead the evolution of scalable resilient and maintainable software architecture. Define architectural standards and guide teams through complex technical decisions while promoting cloud-native microservice-based and modern infrastructure solutions.
  
  
• Industry Engagement & Thought Leadership: Represent OVO as a technical leader at events and in publications. Share insights through blogs and white papers contribute to open-source projects and engage with industry experts to influence broader technical advancements.
  
  
• Cross-Team Collaboration & Strategic Alignment: Align engineering efforts with strategic priorities across OVO. Lead cross-functional initiatives ensuring consistent practices and seamless integration of technologies across teams.
  
  
• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: Maintain clear architectural documentation lead internal tech talks and workshops and contribute to shared libraries and tools. Stay on top of industry trends to embed forward-thinking practices into OVOs engineering culture.
  
  
• Community of Practice: Lead the growth of the Community of Practice shaping its direction through industry engagement. Share knowledge mentor others and contribute to learning pathways that support skill development and career progression.

Youll be a successful Principal Software Engineer here at OVO if you

• Proven experience designing and implementing complex software systems.
• Expertise in driving technical innovation and shaping enterprise-wide strategy.
• Mastery of multiple programming languages ( Python TypeScript JavaScript React Native ) and relevant frameworks.
• Deep understanding of software architecture design patterns and distributed systems.
• Expertise in domains like cloud computing AI or data science.
• Strong knowledge of database systems data modeling and performance optimisation.
• Exceptional leadership and mentorship skills fostering growth and excellence.
• Excellent communication strategic thinking and influencing ability across all levels.
• Skilled in navigating ambiguity and making high-impact decisions.
• Proven ability to engage with industry leaders and build external partnerships.

Lets talk about whats in it for you

Well pay you between 121000 and 174000 depending on your specific skills and experience. We keep our pay ranges broad on purpose to give us and you flexibility to match your experience to our zero carbon mission.

Youll be eligible for an on-target bonus of 15%. We have one OVO bonus plan that focuses on the collective performance of our people to deliver our Plan Zero goal.

We also offer plenty of green benefits and progressive policies to help you feel like you belong at OVOand theres flex pay. Well give you 9% Flex Pay on top of your salary 4% of this is auto enrolled into your pension and the remaining 5% is yours to do what you like with. You can use this to buy from our extensive range of flexible benefits including our green benefits which weve put at the heart of our offering add to your pension or even take it as cash.

Heres a taster of whats on offer:

For starters youll get 34 days of holiday (including bank holidays).

For your health
With benefits like a healthcare cash plan or private medical insurance depending on your career level critical illness cover life assurance health assessments and more

For your wellbeing
With gym membership travel insurance workplace ISA will writing services dental insurance and more

For your lifestyle
With extra holiday buying discount dining home & tech loans and supporting your favourite charities with give-as-you-earn donations

For your home
Get up to 400 towards any OVO Energy plan plus great discounts on solar smart thermostats and EV chargers

For your commute
Nab a great deal on ultra-low emission car leasing plus our cycle to work scheme and public transport season ticket loans

Want to hear about our full range of flexible benefits and progressive people policies Our People Team can tell you everything you need to know.

For your Belonging

To find better ways to support our people we need to listen to each others experiences and find ways to build a truly inclusive and diverse workplace. As part of this we have 8 Belonging Networks at OVO. Led by our people for our people - so when you join OVO you can play a part - big or small - with any of the Networks. Its up to you.

Oh and one last thing...

Wed be thrilled if you tick off all our boxes yet we also believe its just as important we tick off all of yours. And if you think you have most of what were looking for but not every single thing go ahead and hit apply. Wed still love to hear from you!

If you have any additional requirements theres a space to let us know on the application form; we want to make the process as easy and comfortable for you as possible.

Required Experience:

Staff IC